Обзор инструментария блоггеров от Elise
Elise Bauer, в одном из своих блогов - elise.com: On The Job опубликовала превосходный обзор блог-инструментов. Данная публикация интересна еще и тем, что продолжает аналогичный обзор полугодичной давности, что дает возможность произвести сравнительный анализ, и отследить все изменения за этот период.
Ну и моя любимая часть таких публикаций - цитаты (т.к. ничего писать не надо ;):
О том, как правильно сказать, что такое блог, чтобы никого не стошнило от заученной фразы про “производную от английского “weblog” и все такое…”, и было понятно :
What is a blog, anyway? It’s just a website. A website that is extremely easy to update with fresh content. A website that has built in capabilities - the ability to comment for example - for interacting with its readers. A website that has a personal voice. From a product perspective, it’s a set of features, features that any company making tools for website building should incorporate if they want to stay in the game. Companies that are in the business of hosting personal websites for people will have to start offering blog capabilities, whether its their own home-grown variety or achieved through a partnership with one of the existing players.
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From a service perspective, blog tools are more than just a collection of specialized website building features. Blogs by their nature are very personal. They hold the most cherished thoughts, dreams, and knowledge of those creating them. An established blog represents hundreds, if not thousands of hours of someone’s time - time to think, write, and create. Blog tool companies must begin to see their mission as caring for this, the most precious asset their customers have, and act in accordance with this mission. Customers will demand nothing less from them.
Продолжаем рассуждать о финансовой поддержке блоггеров
В какой-то момент, мы с Юрием (mblog.ru) обсуждали (в том числе и по аське) жизнеспособность схемы, когда читатели, которые ценят труд автора блога производят микроплатежи:
Donateware
Решил, что данная модель будет наиболее подходящей для моего блога. В результате изменил страницу О проекте / Контакты, указав wm - кошельки. Из полученных сумм, буду проплачивать домен, хостинг и пиво для лучшей работоспособности :)
Мое мнение было, что система нежизнеспособна в российских условиях. Что это возможно только у гуманных, добрых и заботливых иностранов. :)
Оказалось все еще хуже. Не так давно я писал про Jason Kottke, который перешел на систему, как он ее назвал “Микропатронирования”, предложив читателям платить ему по $30. И вот я стал наталкиваться на сомнения, что и у них-то это не особо рабочая схема. Народ сомневается, что у Jason’а в журнале есть то, за что стоит платить :
Блог easybakeweblogs.com:
Snarks from MeFi:
The only person to market a successful diary was Anne Frank. And we all know what happened to her.
And an overwhelming: $30 is a micropayment?
We’re not sure what kottke is selling us. His personality? His filter on the interesting out there in the world? Now we’re contemplating being asked to pay for the chance to read one chap’s musings?
Maybe I’m too close-minded. I don’t see Kottke’s site as exceptionally useful. Entertaining, yes. But I don’t see him as an essential filter for my daily news intake. Metafilter, yes. DailyKos, yes.
What’s the product? The point of view?
Is this the beginning of ‘filter as celebrity’? Or will Jason’s creativity be freed to create more novel applications of web publishing?
Материалы для освоения
Если среди моих читателей имеются любители “читать интернет”, то я сделал отдельную страничку, доступную в правой колонке - “Blogrolls & Links“. В которую, соответственно названию, попал весь рулон блогов и источников новостей, который я читаю, а также весь необработанный список закладок, которые я зачем-либо сделал. Некоторые из закладок я сам ни разу и не читал и не открывал, поэтому делать выводы о моих предпочтениях по этим спискам невозможно и бессмысленно.
И еще немного информации от профессионалов
Darren Rowse, про которого говорилось в предыдущей публикации, дает несколько советов для начинающих блоггеров, и рассуждает о будущем блогов:
…О том, что нужно иметь свою нишу:
Niche it up baby – think very carefully about your topic/s. I am leaning more towards a niche approach to blogging these days. Yes there is a place for the more general blogs that cover a wide range of topics, but in terms of commercialising them using the methods I use it is probably better to narrow your focus a little.
…о том, что не надо спешить и нервничать:
It won’t happen over night - take a long term approach. It takes time to build a substantial archive of posts, to build your page ranking in search engines, to get linked to by other sites, to build credibility and respect in an industry and to earn the trust of loyal readers. My blogs have hundreds (some thousands) of posts on them, this doesn’t just happen, it takes years of work – initially without much in the way of reward except the satisfaction that you’ve done a good job.
Об энтузиазме:
Write with passion – start with something you have an interest, passion or some expertise in. It is possible to make money from a website or blog that you have no interest in, but its a lot more fun to do it with a topic that energises you. Remember this is not something that might pay off quickly (if at all) so ask yourself the question - ‘would I be happy to blog about this for little or no reward for a couple of years?’ If the answer is no then it might be worth choosing another topic.
…и о трудоемкости выбранного дела:
Blog til you Bleed – entrepreneurial blogging is is bloody hard work. Yes its fun, yes its a rush when you get Slashdotted or Gizmodo links up to you but it can also be a grind and slightly mind numbing. There is no getting away from the fact that to make money from it you need to be willing to work hard, post lots, build relationships with your readers and other bloggers. I blog between 3-10 hours every day (6-7 days per week). Blogging is a flexible job (you can do it around other things) but it doesn’t just happen, especially when you’re just starting out). Set yourself some posting goals (mine is 25 posts per day) and stick to them.
…и снова о главной причине моего беспокойства - все блоги в одном домене:
Diversify – don’t put all your blogging in one basket. My experience late last year of losing most of my traffic from a Google tweak reminded me how fragile blogging as a business can be. Diversify what you do in some of these ways:
* don’t just blog on one domain (Google’s update last year effected all of the blogs I had on one domain but not on another)
* consider a ‘real job’ - whilst I make enough to live on from blogging I also do a bit of other non blogging related work (research position) as well – partly to get me interacting with ‘real’ people but also as a back up income in case it all falls apart!
* blog on a variety of topics – Digital Cameras won’t be the biggest thing for then next 10 years – something else will capture the attention of people position yourself to be there to cash in on the new craze. Its also a good idea for your mental health not to obsess about the one thing exclusively – get a life!
* consider ways you can earn a non direct income from your blog – blogging creates experts (I wrote about this recently). As your blog builds consider other ways you can generate an income from it. Perhaps your blog will open up opportunities for a book on your topic, some speaking opportunities in the industry you’ve chosen, consulting on your topic etc.
Ну а мнение о будущем блогов читайте на сайте оригинала.
Интервью с про-блоггером Darren Rowse
Susannah Gardner опубликовала интервью с Darren Rowse, блоггером, зарабатывающим на жизнь только блоггингом.
Сколько публикует про-блоггер? Ну, в случае с Darrenом:
How frequently do you post?
I currently have a goal of posting 25 posts per day 7 days per week. Of course this is across 17 blogs, some of which I post multiple posts per day, others I would only post on a couple of times per week. I don’t always meet this goal (although some days when I’m on a roll I can do much more than that) but its what I aim for. I figure if I want to make a full time living from blogging then I need to put significant levels of effort into it. If I post for a full year at this rate I’ll have added 9125 pages which gives every opportunity for someone to find it using search engines.
Из того, что на сегодняшний день начинает беспокоить и меня - один домен на много блогов:
Biggest blog mistake?
Mistake: One of the things I regret is not setting up some of the blogs that I’ve started on their own domains. Digital Photography Blog’s URL has always sat uncomfortably with me. I actually own the digitalphotographyblog.com domain name, but am hesitant to move now that I’ve built it to such a good level on the livingroom domain. Of course if I’d have started this blog 18 months ago on its own domain it would not have enjoyed the success that it now has because it became successful very quickly on the back of my previous blog on the same domain name.
Ну, и моя любимая часть, в которой мои предпочтения практически в точности совпадают с профессионалом:
What tools do you use on your blog?
A number of tools come to mind.Movable Type and WordPress – these are the backbones of my blogs. My more recent blogs are WP based and I’m considering moving my older ones over to it too when I see how 1.5 goes.
Ecto – this little tool has revolutionised my blogging. It allows me to blog when offline, drag and drop in images and other files, import quotes from other sources with one click, insert Amazon affiliateship products with a couple of clicks and write it all in WYSIWYG.
Bloglines – RSS is a major development that cuts down the time that it takes me to find content for many of my blogs. I track 300 or so sources daily and find the simplicity and availability (being web based) of it is great.
Powerbook – ok its not really a blogging tool – but I love my Mac
Собственно, из этого интервью я делаю вывод, что и мы-то в целом не сильно отличаемся от западных блоггеров. За теми исключениями, что подобных качественных программ, позволяющих зарабатывать на русскоязычных блогах нет. Но надо думать светлое будущее не за горами. Блоггеры есть, материал есть, осталось добрать недостающие элементы:
Do your blogs earn income for you? How?
Yes they do earn income for me. I have a number of income streams across my little blogging network which include Google Adsense, Amazon affiliate program, other affiliate programs, private sponsorship (banner ads, text ads, button ads), impression based advertising, systems like BlogAds, Adbrite and hopefully BlogKits (if it takes off).
Full-Time Blogging
Jason Kottke (kottke.org) решился начать постоянный блоггинг, как основной вид деятельности, живя на деньги, получаемые от читателей:
I recently quit my web design gig and — as of today — will be working on kottke.org as my full-time job. And I need your help.
I’m asking the regular readers of kottke.org (that’s you!) to become micropatrons of kottke.org by contributing a moderate sum of money to help enable me to edit/write/design/code the site for one year on a full-time basis. If you find kottke.org valuable in any way, please consider giving whatever you feel is appropriate.
This will be a one-time “fund drive” lasting 3 weeks, you may make contributions via PayPal, credit card, or check, there will be some great gifts as an incentive for you to give (more details here), and your contributions will be the primary means of support for the site. And yes, I have absolutely no idea if this will work and I’m completely nervous and exhilarated by the challenges ahead.
The Zen of CSS Design : Visual Enlightenment for the Web
Вышла книга, “The Zen of CSS Design : Visual Enlightenment for the Web“. Авторы - хозяева замечательных сайтов mezzoblue и molly.
Описание с amazon.com:
About the Author
Dave Shea is the creator and cultivator of the highly influential CSS Zen Garden Web site (www.csszengarden.com). As well as being a member of the Web Standards Project, Dave is the owner and director of Bright Creative, and he writes about all things Web for his daily weblog, mezzoblue.com. With over 6 years of experience working on the Web, Dave is a leader of the new generation of Web designers that believe in responsible Web design.
An author, instructor, and Web designer, Molly E. Holzschlag has written over 27 books related to Web design and development. She’s been coined “one of the greatest digerati” and deemed one of the Top 25 Most Influential Women on the Web. There is little doubt that in the world of Web design and development, Molly is one of the most fun and vibrant Web characters around. As a steering committee member for the Web Standards Project (WaSP), Molly works along with a group of other dedicated Web developers and designers to promote W3C recommendations. For more about Molly, check out www.molly.com.
Русское сообщество WP
Очень странно и неприятно было обнаружить, что русскоязычное сообщество WordPress использует для общения LiveJournal. Как-то нелогичненько получается. Тем не менее оно вот здесь.
Интерфейс WP
Я, конечно, не могу сейчас быть адекватным, т.к. только недавно установил этот движок, но пока я не изучил все его внутренности, могу сказать, что я согласен с надписью в самом футере страницы: ” blogger@work is proudly powered by WordPress “. Уж больно симпатично. И начинаю видеть все больше и больше блоггеров, переключающихся на WP.
Building Traffic
И снова польза от CommonCraft:
Practical aspects of building traffic to your blog.
Is content what really matters? You can have great content, but never be seen or used if you don’t put some things in place that help. Blog technology can help.
Have a business plan for your blog- know very specifically what you to do with your blog- who you want to reach, etc.
Choose the best engine for your needs
Brand your site thoroughly
Hire a professional designer
Make sure you can post regularly or your blog will diethe holy trinity:
Comment systems can help build community; blogging technology makes comments easy; beware comment spam; don’t enable comments unless you can manage them.
Comments enable sites to have the ability to have an interactive element. “The accidental blogger”- relates to the directions in which comments can take a site.
Trackback
Pings sites and creates a circle of linking love. Trackback links together sites who are talking about one another.
Trackback is something that is done by the technology. It doesn’t take a lot of knowledge or manual work to make Trackback- the technology does the work.
Point from Darren Barefoot: I don’t use it because it is confusing for most people. It is not simple enough yet. Everyone agrees.
Spammers will figure out how to exploit trackbacks eventually.
See also: Trackback Described in Plain English.
Content Aggregation (Feeds):
A feed is a bit like the “push” model, but are here to stay. Almost all blog software has a built in RSS or Atom feed. All professional and business based blogs should have an RSS feed.
Question from Boris Mann: You talk about “blog software” Isn’t blogging just a feature as opposed to something specific? She says: No, most are specific to blogs. I think Boris is alluding to Drupal, which has blogging as a single feature among many.
Quick poll in the room: With RSS feeds, do you use excerpts or full feeds? The crowd responded with more folks voting for full feeds. Either way, it’s important to have them.
Use web standards- they can increase the speed of your site and your search results.
Use user friendly URLs. Title your links appropriately. Care for your blog, feed it with yummy content, love your blog and it will love you back.